Alessandro Michele Leaves Gucci & More...

It has truly been a week in the fashion industry

Nov 25, 2022

Gucci Under Alessandro Michele

“Since 2015, the 49-year-old Italian turned Gucci from fading glimmer of its Hollywood past into a vivacious, eccentric and at times beautifully ugly fashion house utilising celebrity power to bolster this image. This new Gucci was one of the main money makers for French luxury brand conglomerate Kering, bringing in around 10 billion euros in 2021. Unfortunately, something great can never last forever and sales have slowly begun to dip (although, not massively.)”

The Princess of Wales & Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara

“While the current Princess of Wales is closely associated with the tiara, its most famous, and recurrent, wearer was the late Princess Diana who began wearing the piece early on in her marriage to Prince Charles. While she clearly adored the piece and wore it spectacularly well, she would also often wear the Spencer family tiara. According to some sources, the lover’s knot would give Diana headaches and she found her family piece to be more comfortable.”

Gifts For Fashion Lovers (that aren’t clothes!)

“Let’s be honest, purchasing a present for a fashion lover is never easy. One of the worst feelings in the world is buying them an item of clothing and it doesn’t go down well because either it doesn’t fit them (ooh, always awkward) or just isn’t their style. To help save your blushes, perhaps it’s a safer idea to not buy clothes unless the person you’re buying for has specifically hinted/asked for it and you 100% know their sizing.”

Balenciaga Under Fire

Balenciaga has found itself in hot water this week after advertising its Spring/Summer 2023 collection. Images posted and promoted by the brand showed two very young girls posing with teddy bears that seemed to be wearing BDSM-style harnesses and clothing.

After receiving much backlash online, the brand released an apology stating, “We sincerely apologize for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused. Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms,”

However, this isn’t where the story ends. Social media users noticed that in some other images, there seemed to be excerpts from a US Supreme Court case that upheld part of a federal child pornography law. Again, after receiving online backlash, Balenciaga apologised, or rather, put the blame on others. “We take this matter very seriously and are taking legal action against the parties responsible for creating the set and including unapproved items for our Spring 23 campaign photoshoot. We strongly condemn abuse of children in any form. We stand for children’s safety and well-being.”

Raf Simons Closes House

On Monday the 21st, Raf Simons announced the closure of his namesake brand after 27 glorious years. Taking to social media to announce the news, Raf said, “I lack the words to share how proud I am of all that we have achieved. I am grateful for the incredible support from my team, from my collaborators, from the press and buyers, from my friends and family, and from our devoted fans and loyal followers.”

At the time of writing, no further information has been released.

The First Editor’s Letter

I Didn’t Study Fashion (And You Don’t Have To Either)

“I want you to imagine yourself standing in a room. In front of you are two designers who monumentally changed fashion in their respective times. Alexander McQueen, who received a master’s degree in fashion design from Central Saint Martins in 1992 and Giorgio Armani who, as we’ve established, initially wanted a career in medicine. Which of them is more qualified to state whom they believe should or should not design haute couture? There is only one answer. Both of them.”